January 13, 2025
Communications
To: Child Welfare and Probation CARES SPOCs and Child Welfare Implementation Coordinators
CC: County, Tribe, Probation, and State Leadership, and OCM Coordinators
We hope you found our first Stakeholder Briefing Session in June 2024 informative and useful. We’re excited to announce our Second CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing Session to unveil new features, foster engagement, and drive user adoption.
Date: Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Format: Webinar
The agenda includes:
- Leadership Opening
- A Holistic Design & User Feedback Update
- Demonstrations and Feature Highlights:
- Intake & Investigations (what’s changed since the last session)
- Case Management
- The Foster Care Eligibility Determination (FCED) interface between CWS-CARES & CalSAWS
- An External Systems Update
- Implementation, OCM, & Training Updates
- Technology Updates
- Q&A
You may register for the session using the CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #2 Registration page.
Registration takes less than a minute by entering your name, email, and county or organization. Once registration is complete, a meeting notice with the session information will be automatically sent to the email provided.
You may register for others or forward this email to staff that might be interested in attending the session. We encourage everyone to register by January 22, 2025.
The session will be recorded. For more information, please refer to the CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefings page on the CWDS website which contains the session dates, past session recordings, and materials.
Action Required
You are invited to register for the CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #2. We encourage registration by January 22, 2025.
For additional questions, please email CWDS Customer Relations.
January 08, 2025
Communications
The California Department of Technology (CDT) reported a major incident, Virtual Private Network (VPN) users were unable to authenticate connectivity. CDT investigated the issue and has resolved the services. Users are now able to access VPN.
Action Required
If users experience any issues with CWS/CMS or with using VPN, please follow your county process for reporting issues or you may contact the IBM Boulder Help Desk at 1-800-428-8268.
January 08, 2025
Communications
All Pilot County RFA Implementation Coordinators and SPOCs:
The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Saturday, January 25, 2025, beginning at 9:00 PM and concluding on Sunday, January 26, 2025 at 9:00 PM. During the maintenance window, the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process will be accessible for pilot counties Fresno, Placer, and Santa Clara.
During the maintenance window, Tableau Online in the CARES application will not be accessible.
Action Required
No action required from end-users during this maintenance window.
If users experience any issues with the CWS-CARES, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CWS-CARES County Administrators may contact the CARES Service Desk through the CWDS ServiceNow Customer Support Management (CSM) Portal. Alternate methods are phoning 1-855-292-3444 or via email at Servicedesk@cwds.ca.gov during normal business hours. You may also email after hours, and a Service Desk representative will contact you the next business day.
January 08, 2025
Communications
All SPOCs and Training Contacts:
The Child Welfare Digital Services (CWDS) Office is requesting county staff to participate in the Release 9.6 County Test Workshop (CTW). Registered testers will participate in the testing of Release 9.6 Data Quality SCRs, which is scheduled for delivery to the Counties on May 17, 2025.
The CTW for Release 9.6 will be conducted in a remote setting via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) workstations.
The deadline to register is Thursday, January 9, 2025
System Change Requests (SCRs) included in this release are:
- SCR 8982 - Add Missing Name for Placement Homes for CARES
- SCR 8983 - Add Missing Name for Non-Foster Care Facilities for CARES
- SCR 8999 - Update Client Dates out-of-range for CARES
- SCR 8985 - Make Name Mandatory for Non-Foster Care Facility
- SCR 8989 - Cleanup Outdated Home Studies
- SCR 8843 - Transfer Enrollment between DOE Schools
- SCR 8967 - Duplicate Hearing Notebook Warning
- SCR 8972 - ACL 22-95 ICWA Eligibility Data Entry Mandatory Fields (Part B)
- SCR 8943 - Expand Merge History Log
- SCR 9020 - R9.6 Training Tools Package
Counties are encouraged to register individuals with knowledge and experience working in the areas mentioned above. A mix of end users with casework or supervisory experience will also be beneficial. Participants will validate the changes in the release and will perform tests of problem fixes and enhancements. Participants will work with other County and State testers and vendor support staff.
Remote CTW sessions will take place in the morning from 9:00AM - 12:00PM and again in the afternoon from 1:00PM – 4:00PM on the following dates:
R9.6 Data Quality SCRs in the VB6 Environment
CWDS is seeking a total of fifteen (15) County staff members for each of the following twelve (12) sessions (2 sessions per day):
Tuesday, February 4, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Wednesday, February 5, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Thursday, February 6, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Tuesday, February 11, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Wednesday, February 12, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Thursday, February 13, 2025 (AM or PM session)
R9.6 Data Quality SCRs in C# Environment
CWDS is seeking fifteen (15) County staff members for each of the C# fourteen (14) sessions (2 sessions per day).
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Wednesday, April 2, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Thursday, April 3, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Monday, April 7, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Thursday, April 10, 2025 (AM or PM session)
Participants are welcome to register for any of the sessions listed above in half or whole-day increments.
We encourage you to submit your request for a specific session as soon as possible, but no later than 5:00 PM on January 9, 2025. If a session’s count exceeds the maximum count, Customer Relations will work with that tester to be rescheduled for another session. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
A Release 9.6 CTW Online Registration Form (see link below) for each potential tester must be received as soon as possible but no later than 5:00 PM on January 9, 2025, so the CWDS office can finalize the needed arrangements.
Link: Release 9.6 Data Quality SCRs (VB6 and C#) County Test Workshop (CTW) Registration Form
The CWDS Office will work with the registered testers on all the details of their CTW participation.
Special Note:
The County data will be pulled from the Production environment and copied to the CTW environment at the close of business on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. Therefore, changes to your Production environment after this date will not be in the CTW environment.
If you cannot access the Online Registration Form or have any questions regarding this recruitment, please email CWS_CustRel@osi.ca.gov.
Your continued support of CWDS is greatly appreciated.
Action Required
Submit a Release 9.6 County Test Workshop Online Registration Form no later than 5:00 PM on January 9, 2025.
January 03, 2025
Customer Relations
Batch Merge and Data Cleanses are scheduled on a Weekly, Bi-Monthly, Semi-Annual, and Manually Directed basis.
For information regarding the Batch Merge & Data Cleanse Schedule, Cleansing Instructions, Issues List, FAQs, and other information, please visit the https://cwds.ca.gov/DQP
For additional information regarding the Batch Merge process and reports, please refer to the Automated Client Merge Training Guides located on the Training Portal | Child Welfare Digital Services You must have Training Portal access to view the documents. If you do not have access, contact your County's Single Point of Contact (SPOC).
Data Cleanses
- Update Education Provider School Number
- Standardize Addresses
- Education Enrollment Cleanup (SCR8844)
- End Assignments for Closed Finalized Adoption Cases (SCR 8750)
- Run Unknown Client Name Standardization (SCR 8842)
- Validate & Cleanse Client Demographic Data (SCR 8850)
- SSN Cleansing (SCR 8776)
- Reporter Badge Number Cleansing (SCR 8935)
- Other Adults Cleansing (SCR 8955)
- Multi Notebook Email Cleansing (SCR 8936)
- Service Provider NPI data Cleansing (SCR 8954)
- Staff Person Email Cleansing (SCR 8964)
- Other Child Data Cleansing (SCR 8961)
- Illogical Client Relationship Cleansing (SCR 8971)
- Validate & Cleanse SCP Demographic Data (SCR 8846)
- Staff Person Email Cleansing (SCR 8964)
- Deduplication Cleansing of Hearing (SCR 8970)
Batch Merges
- Bi-monthly Client
- Semi Annual SCP/Attorney
- Semi Annual Placement Home/Service Provider
- Distribute Quarterly SCP/Attorney/Service Provider/Placement Home Reports
- SCP Deduplication (SCR8912)
- Run Service Provider Merge (SCR 8794)
- Run Education Provider De-Duplication - Batch Merge (SCR 8653)
- Run Service Provider Address Merge
Manually Directed Merges
- FFACRFH and FFACH Homes (SCR 8856)
Contact the CWS_CustRel@osi.ca.gov if you have any questions.
December 27, 2024
Communications
December 2024 Workstation Patches
All Co-Existent County SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
As requested, here is the list of patches that IBM tested and applied to the Dedicated County Workstations for November 2024:
MS Windows 10 22H2 Patches
MS24-DEC: Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 22H2 - Windows 10 Version 22H2 - KB5048652 (x64) Critical
MS Windows 2016 (LTSB) Patches
MS24-DEC: Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1607 - Windows 10 Version 1607 LTSB - KB5048671 (x64) Critical
MS Office 2016 Patches
MS24-DEC: Security Update for Microsoft Access 2016 - Access 2016 - KB5002641 Important
MS24-DEC: Security Update for Microsoft Excel 2016 - Excel 2016 - KB5002660 Important
MS24-DEC: Security Update for Microsoft Office 2016 - Office 2016 - KB4475587 Important
MS24-DEC: Security Update for Microsoft Office 2016 - Office 2016 - KB5002661 Important
Google Chrome Patches
Google Chrome 131.0.6778.140 High Unspecified
Adobe
Adobe Acrobat Reader 2024.005.20320 Available
Adobe Acrobat Reader 2024.005.20320 Available - Adobe Acrobat Reader - Continuous Track Critical APSB24-92
Action Required
No action is required. Informational only.
December 24, 2024
Communications
All SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
December 24, 2024 UPDATE:
The issue with the IBM Help Desk Phone System is still being investigated, and it is expected to take a few days to resolve. As a temporary solution, please use the alternate phone number provided below to reach the IBM Help Desk. Alternate Phone Number: 1-855-479-3365
Please note: this alternate phone number will remain in effect until the issue with the original IBM Help Desk Phone System is resolved.
We appreciate your patience.
_________________________________________________________________
An issue has been discovered with the IBM Help Desk Phone System. Callers receive a message that the call cannot be completed as dialed or the call is dropped. This issue is being investigated and additional updates will be sent out as status is received.
Action Required
If users experience any issues with CWS/CMS, please follow your county process for reporting issues or you may contact the IBM Boulder Help Desk at the alternate phone number listed above.
December 20, 2024
Communications
All SPOCs:
Effective Monday, December 23, 2024, the CWDS Office has decided to relocate the following areas/pages from the public-facing CWDS website and move them to the County Logon area (https://cwds.ca.gov/):
- County Info | State Recognized County Administrator List
- County Info | Regional Chair page
- County Info | 24 x 7 Site List
- Data Quality Portal | Data Quality Workgroup Leads list
- Data Quality Portal | CWS/CMS Data Quality Dashboard
- Probation Users | “Who to Contact” document
- Probation Users | SPOC Guide
- County Contacts Page (moved to County Logon area on December 16, 2024)
With this change, users are required to log in using a valid email address that is recognized by the organization's email domain.
Users attempting to access these pages will be prompted to enter their login credentials for the CWDS website if they are not already logged in. This change will take effect on Monday, December 23, 2024.
Action Required
No action is required. Users can sign up with a valid organizational email domain to access the pages listed above, as well as any other sections of the CWDS website that require recognized login credentials.
Please contact the CWDS Customer Relations mailbox if you have any questions regarding this action.
December 18, 2024
Communications
To: CARES SPOCs and Implementation Coordinators
CC: County, Tribe, Probation, and State Leadership, OCM Coordinators
We are pleased to share the CARES Explorer - December 2024 issue, the newsletter for staying up to date on the CWS-CARES project.
This is sent directly to our key stakeholders for project communications: County, Tribe, Probation, and State leadership, CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs), and Organization Implementation Coordinators.
This issue contains information on:
Stakeholders: Discover how the Office of Technology and Solutions Integration (OTSI) is working on the project and understand OTSI’s role as the CWS-CARES project sponsor. Read about how the project partners with organizations to ensure information is shared effectively and the three key communication roles that foster statewide adoption and utilization of CWS-CARES. We also highlight Humboldt County’s creative ways to build awareness and enthusiasm for CWS-CARES.
CWS-CARES: This issue highlights the Reports area, the future of SafeMeasures® and Structured Decision Making® (SDM) assessments with the implementation of CWS-CARES, Resource Family Approval (RFA), holistic design updates, and the CARES Prototype demonstrations and feedback.
Hidden Gems: Learn more about the power of plain language, the results from our Organizational Change Management (OCM Survey), EUST2, and the Stakeholder Briefing series.
We recommend that you share this newsletter at your discretion with staff that are impacted by the changes coming with CWS-CARES.
The CARES Explorer – December 2024 issue is now available here: 20241218_CARES_Explorer_Issue 4
You may also obtain all CARES Explorer issues on the CWDS website: CARES Compass/Explorer | Child Welfare Digital Services
If you have any questions, need clarification, or have any accessibility issues, please do not hesitate to contact Customer Relations.
Action Required:
We request that all CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs) and Implementation Coordinators coordinate and distribute the CARES Explorer Newsletter to all staff impacted by CWS-CARES at their discretion.
December 18, 2024
Communications
All SPOCs, Technical Contacts, and SBC Administrators:
The California Department of Technology (CDT) has scheduled maintenance on Saturday, December 28, 2024, beginning at 6:00 AM and concluding at 10:00 AM. During the maintenance window, CDT will apply Standard Monthly OS Security Patches to SBCS Infrastructure Servers. There is no anticipated outage for this maintenance; however, CDT is asking that everyone log off from the Citrix SBC system, if not actively using it during the maintenance window.
Action Required
If users experience any issues with CWS/CMS, please follow your county process for reporting issues or you may contact the IBM Boulder Help Desk at 1-800-428-8268.
